WHO official urges airlines to lift flight restrictions amid Ebola outbreak

A doctor works in a laboratory on collected samples of the Ebola virus at the Centre for Disease Control in Entebbe, about 37 km (23 miles) southwest of Uganda's capital Kampala, August 2, 2012. REUTERS/Edward Echwalu

KAMPALA, Uganda – The World Health Organization's assistant director-general for emergency operations is urging airlines to lift most of their restrictions about flying to Ebola-hit nations because a predictable "air link" is needed to help deal with the crisis. Dr. Bruce Aylward said Thursday "there is a super risk of the response effort being choked off" if airlines restrict flights to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Here is a look at some of the actions taken by airlines in parts of West Africa amid the deadly Ebola outbreak:

--   Air France announced on Wednesday that it was temporarily halting its flights to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, at the request of the French government. The airline is still flying to Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

-- British Airways initially suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone until the end of August, citing the "deteriorating" health situation there and the need to ensure safety of clients, crew and ground teams. The airline has since said that flights to those countries are suspended for the rest of the year.

-- Kenya Airways has suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

-- Emirates, the Mideast's largest airline, has halted flights to Guinea until further notice.

-- Gambia Bird, the flag carrier of the West African nation of Gambia, has stopped flights to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.

-- Air C⌠te d'Ivoire, Arik Air of Nigeria, Togo's ASKY Airlines and Air Senegal have all suspended flights to Guinea.

-- Eagle Airlines of Ghana has suspended flights to Liberia.

-- Brussels Airlines and Royal Air Maroc of Morocco are still flying to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.